Continuing the conversation: Shel takes me to the woodshed

I figured my take on PR measurement would stir up a hornet's nest, in part because it's politically incorrect and also because I was attacking some people's bread and butter.

I was right.

First, Katie Paine called me a menace and a dinosaur.


I'm hurting the profession?

Now, Shel Holtz -- who I respect a great deal as I followed closely his excellent work at ARCO and Allergan when I was in corporate communications -- has taken me to the woodshed for a beating. He writes:

"With attitudes like Wagner’s, it’s no wonder PR gets so little respect!"

Ouch and double ouch.

Shel says my point that not everything can be measured is incorrect, and he quotes from a PR textbook to back up his argument. Then, in comments to his post, Tudor Williams -- another highly respected pro -- piles on by saying I need to "get with the real world."


Missing the point

I never said measurement was bad or worthless or unnecessary. I simply said that it can be very difficult to accurately measure real outcomes -- cause and effect -- in some cases.

Now, if you're selling a measurement tool to clients and agencies, you're going to tell me I'm wrong. Did that news release directly increase sales? Hard to say, but you can sell me a software program that will assign some type of value to it that I can take to my boss and "prove" my worthiness.

In my "non-real world," however, most executives see right through false metrics. Maybe I'm generalizing, but that's been my experience.


Not breaking news

I also said that many clients don't want to invest in measurement. I don't think that's breaking news to anybody.

But perhaps I'm generalizing there, too.

If you are a PR pro who has measured results on every single project you've ever undertaken, then please step up and leave a comment.

In the meantime, let me just ask this: If a client asks me to write a speech, should I turn down the project unless I can be certain he or she will track audience comprehension every time it's presented?

If a client asks me to produce marketing collateral, should I refuse unless he/she agrees to hold follow-up focus groups to critique its effectiveness?

If a client asks me to distribute a news release announcing a new VP, should I say "no" unless we can prove through research that the release is changing people's perceptions of the company?

In my "non-real world," we do the work that clients want and we do it to the best of our ability.

If measurement is part of that, great. If not, we don't put on a high-falutin' "PR must have seat at the table" act by turning up our noses and walking away.

And I'm guessing that not too many other folks do, either.

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